Ministry of Women and Child Development
Union WCD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani Addresses National Conference on ‘Safety and Security of Women at Public and Work Places’ Organized by BPR&D on International Women’s Day
The BPR&D organized one day National Conference on ‘Safety and Security of Women at Public and Work Places’ on International Women's Day, here today. Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development, graced the function as the Chief Guest and delivered the keynote address in the august presence of senior and retired officers of the Bureau, CAPFs, CPOs, State Police, Academia, Member of National Policemen and Civil Society organizations, and BPR&D staff. The theme of the Conference was “Break the Bias," which implies fostering the inclusive approach towards achieving the broad spectrum of objectives vis-a-vis woman's development. Enhancing the safety and security amongst women at all places, particularly in public and workplaces, is an essential prerequisite.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Irani said that when a woman undertakes a responsibility, she does not take rest till it's completed. She further said that Indian Police Women's greatest challenge is that they cannot afford to look weak to their counterparts, not to society, and not to the establishment. Policewomen are always dedicated to protecting other women, and they do not evade the challenges they face.
The Minister stated that she is aware of challenges faced by the Indian Police Women and is ready to partner with BPR&D to address these. Mentioning that one of these challenges is Lack of crèche facilities for the policewoman, the minister proposed that the Ministry of Women and Child Development can set up Crèche at the District Level for the Indian Police Women. The minister also proposed counselling services for the Women Police personnel all over the Country by ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with NIMHANS, if so desired by the BPR&D.
The Minister further said that there are 704 One Stop Centres and 36 Mahila Help Line in the Country with which 70 Lakh women have been protected. In collaboration with BPR&D we plan to provide self-defence training to prepare the schoolgirls and women in every district. The Minister further stated that in every district, in every police station, there should be women's help desks which should collaborate with One Stop Centres.
Smt Irani said Rs. 9000 Cr. worth project has been evaluated in the Nirbhaya Fund. More than Rs. 4000 Cr. has already been allotted to the States/ UTs. She further suggested that if BPR&D comes up with some New Projects under the Nirbhaya Fund, her Ministry will be more than willing to accept and implement them in the coming Financial Year.
On the occasion, Sh. Balaji Srivastava, DG, BPR&D, gave a brief of the activities undertaken by the Govt. to strengthen the legal actions against the crimes against women. He reminded the series of legal enactment and amendments after the Nirbhaya case, like the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place and Redressal 2013, etc. He also narrated a few capacity-building programs being run through different CDTIs and CAPT. The digital tools being developed to stop the obscene contents, help desk for women, self-defence training, etc., to count a few. The Bureau has trained the Police Investigators and Prosecutor for women-related crimes, and in the last 04 years, about 20,000 such officers have been trained. Two Training Centres of the Bureau are also evolving as Centres of Excellence for training Police officers in women-related investigation and prosecution. Bureau also has a separate Micro-Mission related to the safety and upliftment of the women.